


you dumbfuck

by softkent (SalazarTipton)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 3 times, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Getting Together, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalazarTipton/pseuds/softkent
Summary: the three times swoops hides his condition + the one time Kent won’t let him
Relationships: Kent "Parse" Parson/Jeff "Swoops" Troy
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59





	you dumbfuck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefrantasticgay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrantasticgay/gifts).



> thefrantasticgay: you asked for this back when i uploaded my last parswoops hanahaki and i've finally finished it! hope you like it :)

1.

“You better not be getting sick,” Kent says, trying to level Swoops with a glare from his spot on the row machine. 

He waves off his captain and coughs into his elbow again. It’s just a tickle in his throat that he can’t seem to shake off. He grabs his water and gulps down more than a few mouthfuls. 

“I’m--I’m not getting sick. Just had a thing. Don’t worry about it, Parser. You already mother me too much,” Jeff says once he recovers from holding his breath to get his water down. Kent rolls his eyes at him and goes back to his own workout. 

He’s doing one of his least favorite things: lying to Kent. But what other option does he have? Admit that he’s in love with him and he’s got it so bad for him that his love grew into a lavender plant wrapped up in his lungs? Yeah, he can see how well that conversation would go. It’s not like he could help; it would just make him feel guilty. 

Jeff takes another swig and wills the itch in his throat away. He’s still got half his workout to get through before he can try hacking up a lung. The petals only started coming last week, so he’s sure he can hold himself together for a few more hours. 

“Wanna come spot me?”

“Promise you won’t get me sick?” 

He answers with an eye roll and heads over to the weight rack. Kent comes up behind him and helps set the bar to his usual starting weight. Jeff lies back on the bench and looks up at him, taking in the way the tips of hair are curling from his sweat. Even gross from his workout and a little grumpy, Kent still looks like a freaking god--all tanned skin, attitude, and bright eyes. 

* * *

2.

“You need the bathroom? Imma hit the shower.”

“Didn’t you just shower at the stadium?”

“For my shoulder, dude. That check during the second didn’t feel great.”

Kent nods his head solemnly in understanding and scoots past him into the bathroom. Swoops waiting until he hears the sink running before he pushes out a muffled cough against the skin of his elbow, face turned towards the wall of windows looking out at the city. He can feel a sticky petal in his throat slowly crawling up his esophagus in a painful, wet sting. The sink shuts off and he tries to clamp himself down. He stops breathing in an effort to stop irritating the damn thing. 

It’s not the first time he’s wished his body could have picked a different flower. He’s read accounts of cherry blossoms, orchids, and many more much better sounding petal shapes. Instead he’s stuck with the tiny purple petals. They stick to everything and seem to come far more often than the others he’s heard of. 

Kent comes out the bathroom with his contacts replaced by his glasses and slightly damp bangs from washing his face. Any other night, Jeff would relish in getting to see him like this--all soft edges and tired--but now isn’t the time for ogling. He rushes past Kent, stripping off his shirt on the way as an excuse to ignore the concern in his face. 

He slams the door a little too hard behind himself in his rush and flips the shower on, not bothering with finding the right temperature. He just wants the noise to cover up his hacking. He coughs into his elbow so hard he tilts forward, nearly falling into the shower. When he pulls away, a few petals are littering his skin. He shoves his arm under the cold spray of the water to rid himself of them.

He breathes in deep, but it catches causing another cough to start. It’s a process, but he gets himself under control at the cost of sixteen petals now swirling their way down the drain. Jeff grabs his mouthwash and gargles it, hoping the minty burn will at least take away the cloying feeling of the flower. 

Finally, he adjusts the water and steps in for a shower.

* * *

3.

Jeff nearly drops his phone from the full, body-shaking cough wrecking through his chest. He keeps his mind enough to turn the camera towards the ceiling as he wipes the full blossoms off of his chin. When his hand comes away, he spots blood for the first time. 

“Swoops? Are you okay?” Parse calls out from Facetime. “Do you want me to come over?”

He shots up from the couch and rushes to his kitchen. “Nah, man. I’m fine. Remember that sinus thing Charming had a few weeks back?”

“Have you told the trainers? You don’t need to hurt yourself for the sake of playing tonight. It’s just the Schooners, not some life or death thing....Jeff?”

He ducks his head down to the faucet and rubs the blood off of his face with a rough hand. He clenches his eyes shut around the stinging of tears. He doesn’t want to cry, not when Kent is already freaking out. 

“I’m fine! I’ll--uh--I’ll see you at the rink tomorrow okay? I gotta go.” 

“You’re worrying me--” Jeff taps the screen, ending the call with wet fingers. 

He leans on his hands against the counters top, holding himself up while he takes in a shaking breath. And another, until the shaking turns to sobbing. He turns, slides down the cabinet, and tucks his face into his knees finally letting himself cry it out. 

He’s in love with his best friend and it is going to kill him because how could Kent ever love him the same way?

* * *

+1.

Jeff’s head snaps up when he hears the familiar sound of a key unlocking his front door. He scrubs at his eyes and stumbles forward trying to get to his feet, but the fast movement loosens something in his chest again. He’s forced to his knees, coughing. 

He’s too wrapped up in the pain of the flowers to see Kent walk in and freeze in place at the sight of lavender and blood on his hand. 

“What the fuck…” Kent whispers. He kneels down next to Jeff and reaches out to him. “Jeff?”

Jeff peers over at him with a grimace. “You’re not supposed to be here. This...it--it doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me? You’re my best friend! I love you too damn much to let you sit there and lie to me! What’s going on?” Kent yells. 

From his spot on the floor, Jeff can make out his waterline pooling over. He starts crying again, too. He never wanted to hurt Kent with all this. That’s why he didn’t tell him in the first place. 

“I think you know. Not many things out there make flowers appear outta nowhere, Parse.”

Kent crawls over to Jeff and cups his face in his hands. “Who is it?”

“It doesn’t matter--”

“No, it really does fucking matter because I need to know who I need to go murder for not seeing how fucking wonderful you are and not seeing what a goddamn blessing it must be to be loved by you,” Kent bites out. 

His seething demeanor is somewhat lessened by the tears flowing down his cheeks. Jeff reaches out to wipe them away, but spots the blood on his hands and thinks better of it. 

“You don’t mean that.”

“Swoops, dude, you’re my whole world. How have you not figured that out yet?” Kent brushes his hair off of Jeff’s forehead from where it was sticking to his skin. 

“It’s…” Jeff risks taking in a deep breath and finds it easier than he has in weeks. “It’s you. I love you.”

Kent’s eyes go so wide he looks just like his cat during playtime. Jeff shouldn’t find it funny back he can’t help smiling. 

“Well, that makes things easier, I guess. Since I love you right back, you dumbfuck.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i'd love to hear your thouhgts in the comments.  
> i'm always up for prompts/chatting/etc. over on tumblr: [softkent](http://softkent.tumblr.com/)


End file.
